Making Live Video Part Of Your Music Promotion

Far from being just another flash in the pan music tech fad, it seems live video, be it Periscope or Facebook is not only here to stay, but has also become a key part of an artist's self-promotion arsenal in today's music industry.

PROMOTION IS ALWAYS KEY

You can’t expect to just press record without notice and have 200k viewers right away.

Don’t forget to promote your live video before it happens!

Make several posts to announce it:

two weeks before

one week before

the day before

Treat your live-streams like gigs. Any good event is gonna need proper promotion.

So let your fans know well in advance.

LIVE AND ARCHIVED

What if people miss your live broadcast? Is it gone forever?

No need to worry. All these platforms allow you to save your video after it’s no longer live.

Use it as a music video or as promotion for getting booked.

“Around two-thirds of the watch time for Facebook Live happens when the video is no longer live, which tells us that people are interested in watching live videos even if they can’t catch them while they’re happening” – Facebook’s head of video Fidji Simo toldTechCrunch

To get inspired here’s what live video looks like when it’s done right.

THE PIONEERS OF LIVE VIDEO STREAMING

Music and live streaming go hand in hand. There’s already a rich (and weird!) history of live streaming in music.

Just Jam is the DIY precursor to Boiler Room. Since 2009, they have featured everything from obscure grime acts to bigger names like Four Tet.

What you should learn: you can get super kooky with the visuals. Their signature aesthetic is psychedelic video collages:

Boiler Room launched in 2010. Their trademark look has since become iconic: a webcam pointed at a DJ who is surrounded by hip, invite-only guests.

The concept has since spread to over 100 cities in the world.

What you should learn: find your own performance style. Bring costumes, props, whatever works for you. DJ Scotch Egg brought a frying pan, Game Boys and wore an apron: